A major issue concerning music educators is declining participation in music over the school years. This study aimed to explain why students choose to study music at school. The theoretical lens of self-determination theory was used to examine how the satisfaction of basic psychological needs might lead to students valuing music and choosing to study it at school. Participants were 204 male students in an Australian high school. A structural equation model was evaluated, with elective intentions predicted by value, psychological needs satisfaction, and instrumental experience. The hypothesized model was supported and explained 65% of variance in elective intentions and 50% of variance in students' valuing of music. Students with higher psychological needs satisfaction and value for music had stronger intentions to continue studying music. Psychological needs satisfaction explained a considerable proportion of why students valued music. Students with more experience learning an instrument were also more likely to choose music, but psychological needs satisfaction and value were far more influential. These findings extend existing research on Self-Determination Theory(SDT) in educational and music contexts, and suggest implications for teachers wishing to increase participation in school music education.

High school students do not value music education highly, nor do they see it as a useful part of their academic pathways. When music becomes an elective subject, low enrolment in elective classes is seen as a challenge for music educators. This study aimed to further investigate this issue by examining the motivational climate of the music classroom, including the perceptions of the music teacher, in the development of student motivation for music. It also examined how these motivational factors influenced students’ intentions to take music as an elective subject. A hypothesized model based on self-determination theory was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM), based on survey data from N = 395 students from 11 schools. The hypothesized model fit the data well. Students’ basic psychological needs fulfillment was predicted by the perceived needs-supportive practices of their teachers. These in turn were predictive of students’ elective intentions. Using multi-group SEM analyses, findings were invariant across gender, school type, year at school, and socio-economic status, and the role of prior music learning was examined. The results indicate that an effective target for increasing students’ motivation and value for music at school may be the motivational climate of the music classroom.